C-Dory 16 Cruiser Kicker Motor Placement and Performance

Peter, Marty Et. Al.:

I learned a lot from all of you, and now fully appreciate why people have been advocating Permatrim. Also, I want to publicly thank Marty, because his comments on his 40 HP engine performance led me to purchase a similar boat and engine. We agree with him completely that 40 HP is all that is needed for the CD16 Cruiser (the Angler would probably benefit from higher horsepower because the cabin is shifted up front.) Frankly, my wife and I feel very unsafe when the boat is at its top-end speed. People on this web site have repeatedly stated that people are more comfortable in the 15 to 20 knot range, and we totally concur.

P.S. I made an error on stating the speed as knots -- I meant to write MPH. To be specific, we reached 26.5 MPH before we decided we did not want to run the boat that fast any more. After hitting that small wave, we flew into the air and slammed down with so much force, it almost knocked the fillings out of our teeth (those teeth that are left, anyway.) We probably could have gone faster, but after that experience, we've decided to spend life in the s-l-o-w lane.

Thank you all for your help,

Rich
 
Here's a good rookie question... Why is it okay for the main motor to be down(not running) and in the water when running the kicker BUT it's NOT good for the kicker to be down (not running) while running the main?
 
At kicker speeds, the main engine, can act as a rudder, and the boat is going slowly, There is drag, but it is acceptable for many. There is minimal risk to the main engine.

At planing speeds with the kicker down, it will be throwing a lot of spray, has the potential of forcing water up thru the exhaust (unlikely, but possible), and being a serious drag.
 
South of Heaven":1uxh3gup said:
Here's a good rookie question... Why is it okay for the main motor to be down(not running) and in the water when running the kicker BUT it's NOT good for the kicker to be down (not running) while running the main?
Click to expand...
When running the kicker I would leave the main down only when using a tie bar between the main and the kicker and I wanted to steer from the helm. Usually when using the kicker, I enjoyed sitting in the rear leaning up against the raised main engine and steering with the kicker's tiller. When running with just the main you want the kicker up to eliminate the drag.
 
thataway":uiteglpn said:
At kicker speeds, the main engine, can act as a rudder, and the boat is going slowly, There is drag, but it is acceptable for many. There is minimal risk to the main engine.

At planing speeds with the kicker down, it will be throwing a lot of spray, has the potential of forcing water up thru the exhaust (unlikely, but possible), and being a serious drag.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks. So it's more of a drag issue than any possible mechanical issue (although I did see your quote about "water being forced into the exhaust".
I'm on the fence about which kicker motor and cylinder config that I want. I really would like a used 2 stroke 4 HP but I'm not finding any short shafts on Craigslist. Would a long shaft be usable??
 
I agree with everything that has been said and would like to add that it is good to keep the kicker up while the main engine is running just in case you strike a submersed object with the main engine that takes out its lower unit. This in fact happened to me a couple of years ago, and I was able to go home on the kicker motor. Had I had my long shaft kicker down, it would've been disabled as well.
 
My personal choice would be a long shaft--unless you running in very shoal water much of the time. The long shaft will keep the prop in the water even in chop or heavy seas.

Yes, the main engine, prop (freewheeling) and lower unit does cause some drag--and if the kicker were margin, you would get better speed with it up. But I have usually kept mains down, and lived with the drag.
 
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